Floor finishing machine



June 1962 c. F. YTTERBERG 3, 39,

FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1959 A INVENTOR ATTORNEYJ United States Patent Ofiice 3,039,374 Patented June 19, 1962 3,039,374 FLOOR FINISHING MACHINE Carl F. Ytterherg, Tuekahoe, N.Y., assignor to Kalman Floor Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 859,403 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-45) This invention relates to a concrete surface finishing machine and more particularly to an improved concrete troweling machine.

Priorly, numerous types of devices have been employed to achieve a troweling operation for concrete or terrazzo floors. These devices exhibit certain disadvantages. For example, it has been found advantageous to employ a vibratory force on the troweling blades of the troweling machine. Priorly, this vibratory force was obtained by mounting a motor above one or more of the troweling blades, mounting an eccentric member on this troweling blade and connecting the motor to the eccentric by means of a pulley and belt arrangement. The use of a belt introduces certain problems such as slippage and wear.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved floor finishing machine.

It is another object of this invention to provide a concrete or terrazzo floor finishing machine of the troweling type in which the problems of belt wear in the vibratory system are obviated.

It is another object of this invention to provide a concrete surface finishing machine which is compact in construction, easily maneuverable, easy to maintain and is of simplified construction.

Briefly, in accordance with aspects of this invention, I provide an improved troweling machine by utilizing a small electrical motor mounted on one of the troweling blades and mounting an eccentric member directly on the motor shaft. Advantageously, the motor is mounted on a bearing plate and the motor shaft passes through a bearing mounted in the bearing plate to reduce the effect of the vibrational forces on the shaft bearings. The eccentric member is mounted on the rotor shaft on the opposite side of the bearing plate from the motor. A pair of commutator rings are connected to the small motor and are mounted concentric with the drive shaft for the troweling blades. A pair of brushes are connected through a switch on the handle to a source and contact these rings to supply electric power to the vibratory motor. With such an arrangement, a small, compact electric motor can be employed which will produce the necessary vibratory forces without making the resulting combination bulky and difiicult to maneuver.

These and various other objects and features of the invention will be more clearly understood from a reading of the detailed description of the invention in combination with the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of one illustrative embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in elevation taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a view in elevation taken along the lines 33 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is depicted one exemplaryembodiment of the troweling machine according to this invention. As therein depicted, a handle is connected to the transmission housing 12 to provide for manual movement of the device. An internal combustion engine 16 is mounted on the top of the device and is connected through a suitable pulley 18 mounted on the engine output shaft 19 and a belt 21 to a second pulley 23. Pulley 23 is mounted on shaft 25 of a speed-reducing gear arrangement 26 which is not shown in detail but may be of any convenient form well known in the art. Three troweling blades 30 are shown in FIGURE 1. However, any convenient number may be employed. As shown in FIGURE 1, individual electric motors 34 are mounted on each of the troweling blades 30 by means of a suitable mountingbracket 36, as best seen in FIGURE 2. Alternatively, a motor may be mounted on one blade 30 and counter weights may be mounted on the other blades. The mounting brackts are secured to the blades 30 by means of suitable bolts 38 which pass through a plate 40 welded on the upper surface of the blade 30. The shaft 42 of the motor 34 passes through the mounting plate 36 and is encircled by a suitable bearing 37 mounted in the mounting plate 36. Advantageously, this hearing transmits the vibratory forces directly to the troweling blade, which vibratory forces are developed by the rotation of eccentric mass 44 mounted on the shaft 42. Since the vibratory forces do not always need to be employed in the finishing of a concrete floor, switch 46 mounted on the handle 10 maybe turned off to terminate the energizing circuit of the motor or motors 34. The electrical connections between the switch 46 and the motors 34 are achieved through a pair of concentric commutator rings 50 and 52 mounted on the drive shaft 56. Drive shaft 56 is secured to a gear (not shown) of reducing gear 26 and also to blades 30. These commutator rings are contacted by a pair of brushes 53 mounted on the driving gear box 26. The commutator rings are connected to the individual motors 34 by pairs of insulated conductors, not shown.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is depicted a view in elevation of one blade 30 showing the simplicity of the construction of the troweling blade and the mounting arrangement for the vibratory motor 34. The eccentric member 44 is shown as a relatively fiat plate mounted on the shaft 42 in a manner such that a center of gravity of the member 44 is remote from the shaft 42. It is understood that any other form of vibratory mass may be employed.

While I have shown and described one illustrative embodiment of this invention, it is undertood that other forms of construction may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention; for example, a rheostat may be connected in circuit with the motors 34 and mounted on the handle 10 to control the speed of the motors 34 and the vibrations produced by the eccentrics 44.

What is claimed is:

1. A troweling machine comprising a plurality of troweling blades, drive means connected to said troweling blades to rotate said troweling blades with respect to said drive means, handle means connected to said drive means for manual movement thereof, electric motor means mounted on said troweling blades, said machine including a pair of concentric commutator rings mounted on said troweling blades and electrically connected to said electric motor means for transmitting electric current thereto, said electric motor means including a plurality of electric motors, each having a shaft, means for mounting one of said electric motors on each of said troweling blades, said last-mentioned means including a vertically extending mounting plate secured to each blade with one of said electric motors on one side thereof, a bearing in each of said plates having the motor shaft extending therethrough and an eccentric mass mounted on each of said electric motor shafts on the opposite side of said plate from said motor.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein one of said electric motors is secured to each of said vertically extending mounting plates.

Jackson Mar. 14., 1939 Ytterberg Oct. 6, 1953 

